3am on the 7th August 1943 in the small town of Winslow, Oxfordshire, many slept quietly as a lone plane circled overhead, the crew struggling to line up for a second attempt to land at nearby RAF Little Horwood.
Wellington X3790 Mk III of 26 Operational Training Unit had taken off on a training bombing mission but had to turn back after the bomb sight failed to operate correctly. Flying over blacked out country the pilot tried the get down but had to go around, in the rear of the bomber Sgt Navigator Jeffrey Harrington had his work cut out watching his instrument's, next thing he remembered was waking up next to the burning remains of his plane.
The plane flying very low had impacted a tree and tore off a wing, uncontrollable, the Wellington crashed through the Chandos Arms pub, careered across High street and into the 4 Rose cottages destroying one, of the 5 crew, 4 were lost in the crash but tragically many more died on the ground.
13 civillians died in the town including Thomas Cox, landlord of the Chandos Arms, Tom Paintin of number 82 High Street also his son Donald, Stephen and Doris Mullis and their 2 children Terence and Kathleen, Israel and Annie Goldberg their daughter Lottie Hoberman and her son Victor [evacuees from Stoke Newington], also William and Nora Hawkins.
X3790s crew lost
Sgt Pilot Wilfred Davies
Sgt (Jock) McKeon
Sgt John Sowter
Sgt Clive Fietz
Sgt Navigator Jeffrey Harrington survived.
On the street today nothing shows of this sad accident but the gap in the frontages. Nearby at the British Legion hall a memorial plaque has been built into the outside wall a small reminder of an awful night in Winslow
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